


A Day in the Life

by ideallyqualia



Series: Rare Pairs [72]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Birds, Canon Universe, Chickens, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 05:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9163552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/ideallyqualia
Summary: Ushijima has a pet chicken. It’s a secret.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been meaning to write this, and then found out it’s the year of the rooster, so this became a necessary fic to do right away (they can't actually have a rooster though; that'd be way too much noise). I took liberties with chicken care; don’t actually think this is a guide or anything.

Ushijima stopped in his morning jog. A chicken stood beside the sidewalk, pecking at the grass. Ushijima crouched beside her and listened to the faint clucking.

"Are you lost?"

She looked up at him with a tilted head and clucked again. Her eyes darted around, and her head followed them in little jerky movements, glancing and pausing over and over instead of going through smooth motions.

Ushijima covered her back to gauge her response. She didn't react. He lowered his hand and stroked her feathers.

"I've never seen any chicken owners around here. Were you abandoned? Or are you lost?"

She warbled another cluck.

"I'll temporarily take you in, then." Ushijima gathered her in his arms and stood up. She continued to tilt her head and look around with light noises. She flapped her wings.

"It's a good thing you aren't a rooster." Ushijima started to jog again. He took care to keep her from jostling. "Lots of people are irresponsible and buy chicks because they're cute. They don't realize that chickens are a lot of responsibility, or that chickens grow so big. Don't worry, I'm aware."

She peeped.

 

* * *

 

"You need a name."

Ushijima watched her scratch at the carpet of his dorm room. He snuck her in under his jacket, as a precaution to not be seen. The early hour kept the possibility of that low, but Ushijima didn't want to take any chances until he found her a home. He also hen-proofed the room and tucked all electrical wires away, and safely plugged the outlets.

She walked over the newspaper-covered floor he had prepared. Her nails scratched little holes across them, and Ushijima twitched, but she didn't make any further messes. She clucked and looked at him.

"I think I'll call you Hiyoko. It's fitting." Ushijima got up. "I'll be right back with food. Behave."

Her wings flapped a small wind. Feathers fell over the ground, and Ushijima had to force himself to turn away and ignore it.

He walked into the floor kitchen and opened his portion of the pantry. Several pieces of bread remained in one of his containers, and he took it and closed the pantry cupboard to carry the bread with him.

He turned and found Yamagata standing in the doorway. Yamagata passed him and opened the fridge.

"All you're eating for breakfast is bread?" Yamagata asked as he looked inside. His voice echoed ahead inside the fridge, distant to Ushijima's ears.

"This isn't for me."

"Then for who?"

Ushijima hesitated. "There's a bird in my window."

"Don't let it get too loud," Yamagata said.

"I have no control over that."

Yamagata waved him off. Ushijima withdrew and hurried back to occupy Hiyoko with her food.

He broke the bread slices into small pieces and placed them on the newspaper. Hiyoko ran a brisk waddle up to him, and then pecked at the pieces and crumbs. Ushijima left the container on the floor and left to shower and change.

When Ushijima came back to check on her and get his school bag, she was sound asleep, hunched into a puff of feathers on the floor. His mouth shifted slightly, and he tiptoed to muffle his feet and lock the door without disturbing her.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima went to the dorm building several times to check on Hiyoko. He couldn't do so during class, but he ran back right after school ended, during breaks in practice, and after practice. Ushijima didn't start running until he was sure he was out of everyone's sight.

Hiyoko never raised her voice above a cluck, and she kept her messes to the newspapers. Despite her considerate roommate qualities, Ushijima really needed to find her home. He printed fliers with his cell phone number and photos of her, and posted them all over town, but no one contacted him about their chicken. Hiyoko managed to stay calm during the search process.

At the end of the week, Ushijima decided he needed to make accommodations for her so she could be comfortable as they waited. He drafted a letter to the head of the school for permission to keep her on campus grounds, and he wrote a list of materials he needed to make her a chicken coop. He also set aside a list of pet supplies to buy, such as appropriate chicken food and a leash for walks.

Yamagata caught him carrying planks of wood from the home improvement store. He said nothing and watched Ushijima lean the wood against the side of the dorm building.

"What?" Yamagata asked after a delay. "What're you doing?"

"I..."

Yamagata stared at him. His eyes held the same pausing sentiment as the delay, like a joke or sarcastic line waiting to be said. He crossed his arms.

"I'm building a chicken coop for my hen, Hiyoko," Ushijima conceded. He didn't look at Yamagata as he said it, instead working on the coop.

Yamagata walked around it and nodded without explaining the affirmative gesture. "Okay. Where'd the hen come from?"

"I found her. I'm trying to unite her with her owner."

Yamagata scratched his head. "Wakatoshi, I'm not sure...I don't think she's lost. Chickens aren't really pets people like."

"I know that's a possibility." Ushijima went on to nail the precut wood together. He hammered the nails in, and Yamagata winced at the noise.

"Is she in your room right now?"

"Yes."

"Is anyone even with her?"

"No. But she can behave. I trust Hiyoko." Ushijima turned the incomplete coop around to assess another piece.

Yamagata sighed and made his way back where he came from.

"Where're you going?" Ushijima asked as Yamagata passed.

"To look after your bird while you do this."

"Oh. Thanks." Ushijima resumed hammering.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima walked back upstairs. Building the coop took half the day, and he still hadn't finished, but he needed to shower and check on Hiyoko.

Yamagata was sitting at Ushijima's desk as Hiyoko slept. By the stiffness of his shoulders, Ushijima could tell that Yamagata didn't actually want to spend his time watching over Hiyoko.

"I'm taking a break on building for the day. You can go now. Hiyoko thanks you," Ushijima said.

Yamagata stretched his arms above his head with a groan. "God I'm sore. Yeah, no problem."

Ushijima picked up the pieces of newspaper that Hiyoko dirtied, and he threw them in the trash. Yamagata didn't leave.

"Why're you staying?" Ushijima asked.

Yamagata turned in the chair. He placed his hands on his knees. "Wakatoshi, are you allowed to actually have her in you room?"

"No." Ushijima bent to scratch her neck, and she peeped.

"What're you going to do until you finish making the chicken coop?"

Ushijima shifted. "Keep her here."

"That's a terrible idea."

"I have to make the best choice for her." Ushijima picked up a wispy down feather off the floor.

Yamagata rested his head against his head.

 

* * *

 

Throughout the next few days, Yamagata helped Ushijima care for Hiyoko. They took turns sprinting to the dorm building to check on her, and Yamagata vouched for Ushijima whenever someone asked him about it, or the occasional noise she made. Ushijima didn't understand why, but he didn't question it.

"How long have you had her?" Yamagata asked him in his room.

"A week before I started building the coop."

"Who else'd you tell?"

"I didn't tell anyone else but administration."

Yamagata breathed out his nose and shook his head. "Do they even know where she is?"

"No." Ushijima scratched under her wings. Feathers always felt pleasant to his hands, and he sifted his fingers around them. She peeped in enjoyment.

"You really need to finish that coop."

"I'm doing my best." Ushijima picked her off the bed and put her back on the floor. She started walking around.

"I know..." Yamagata snorted. "It's better that someone at least help you out."

"Thanks for that. I appreciate it."

"And it'd be terrible if Reon or Eita did it. They'd turn you in or make you turn yourself in."

Ushijima tilted his head. "They would?"

"Are you kidding? Eita secretly gets scared breaking the rules, and Reon's just...you know, just. He does the right thing."

"This _is_ the right thing." Ushijima leaned over the side of the bed. "Where else would Hiyoko go?"

"You've got a point." Yamagata crossed his legs and accidentally knocked a pillow off the bed. It landed in a safe zone, where Hiyoko didn't walk.

"Hiyoko appreciates you, too." Ushijima handed Yamagata a piece of bread. "Here, you should feed her some."

Yamagata stared at him right after Ushijima mentioned Hiyoko. He then accepted it and hung over the bed to give it to her. "Here, Hiyoko."

She ran up to him in an excited sprint, waddling side to side on her careless feet. She nibbled at it and ate it from his hand. Ushijima spectated with applause.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima knocked on Yamagata's door. Almost everyone left their door unlocked, but Ushijima never wanted to assume, and he never barged in.

Yamagata opened within a minute. "What's up, Wakatoshi?"

"I'm going to take Hiyoko to her new chicken coop. Do you want to come?" Ushijima asked.

"Yeah, I'll come. You finally finished?"

"I'm completely done."

Yamagata followed him to his room and accompanied him as he gently picked her up and transported her outside. She raised her head with bleary eyes and blinked at the brightness of the setting sun, squinting to preserve her sleepiness.

He opened the coop door and crouched. Ushijima's vision of the coop hadn't been grand, but the fulfilled goal still wasn't what he wanted for her. He elevated it a little off the ground to keep her out of easy reach of other animals, and he built it under his window, but he still wanted to have an enclosure attached so she could walk a lot on her own.

Ushijima held her close near his neck and tilted his head down to kiss her head feathers before he placed her inside. She accepted the relocation with no resistance at all, her legs limp and lazy even as she sat down. When he withdrew, she settled and relaxed into a wider pile of feathers.

"What was her name again? Hiyoko?" Yamagata asked.

Ushijima forgot he came, and he was startled. He disguised it as sudden shoulder tension. "Yes, it's Hiyoko."

Yamagata stepped ahead of Ushijima and marveled at the coop with a whistle. "You did a good job on it. I had no idea you could do this kind of thing."

"I just followed instructions." Ushijima's shoulders drifted upward in a slow unsure shrug, and then crouched again to see her. "Will you be alright sleeping here from now on?"

Hiyoko answered by giving one cluck. Yamagata laughed.

 

* * *

 

Ushijima attached the leash to Hiyoko's harness. Enough time passed that Ushijima had lost hope that anyone would come forward and ask for her back, and he invested in more supplies: a leash, harness, nail clippers, more seed, and styptic powder for bleeding. Taking her for a walk would distract her from homesickness.

He escorted her to the sidewalk. He was dressed in sweats and a shirt for a comfortable run, and Hiyoko seemed energetic and ready to exercise. She was also awake at early morning hours: the perfect exercise companion.

Ushijima jogged around a few blocks with her. He didn't know much about her stamina, though, so he stopped her and dropped her off to keep her from getting tired. He rewarded her with tiny pancakes he cooked specially for her.

Hours later, Tendou and Yamagata found Ushijima retrieving the pancake container from the fridge to give her another treat.

"What's that? Can I have some?" Tendou asked.

"No."

"You're...you're going to eat tiny little pancakes?"

Ushijima looked down at them. "Yes, I am."

Tendou smothered his laughter with his hand. Yamagata laughed alongside him, but Tendou laughed harder.

Ushijima leaned to Yamagata's ear. "It's for Hiyoko," he said quietly.

Yamagata's laughter lost its authenticity. "Oh, heh, should've known..."

"What're you whispering? Can I know a secret?" Tendou separated them and moved his hands to their shoulders. "What is it?"

"He asked if I wanted blueberry pancakes, but I'm allergic to blueberries," Yamagata lied.

Tendou raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, okay. I'll just eat something else." He grabbed a package of cookies from his pantry and left.

"Did...were you running with Hiyoko this morning?" Yamagata asked.

"I was."

"Alright, good, I thought I was imagining things." Yamagata shook his head with a breath of a laugh. "You walk your chicken..."

"She seemed to like it. I'll take her again in a few days. Would you like to walk her sometime?"

Yamagata glanced at the ceiling and considered it. "Do I have to wake up at the crack of dawn?"

"No."

"Then I'll take her sometime."

Ushijima's mouth wobbled. "She'll be very happy."

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N that exists at the end of all my fics): I find unsolicited concrit really rude, I'm not looking for any. Please don't tell me someone was OOC/something happened you didn't like/it's too short/etc. in any bookmarks or comments.


End file.
